Sorry I’ve been quiet! It’s been a busy but very fun weekend. Tom’s 30th, parties, cowboys, visiting friends, being visited by friends, drinking weird beer, late night fires, working at the cinema and then tidying and eating expensive ham and chocolate biscuits (not together)! mmmmm….

It’s begun…

In my last post I mentioned my current wardrobe crisis and what I thought I should do about it. Your wonderful positive feedback and stories have encouraged me to commit to this project and this post marks the beginning. Not the most beautiful picture to begin an adventure with but the most meaningful (and believe it or not those bags are big and heavy – they look so tiny in this picture!). I’ve also removed 4 coats from my cupboards, one of them had bus tickets from the start of 2010, so you can tell how long it’s been since I last wore it – it’s time to go! I’ve gathered most* of the guilty of being unflattering and worn out clothes and sorted them into bin or charity bags. I’m ready.

*Throwing out stuff is hard… and I’ll be honest with you – there are still a couple of offending items remaining in my drawers. They will be replaced but I’m predicting this adventure as a slow and thoughtful one. I don’t expect one or 2 shopping trips to solve my little battle with fashion. I’m preparing myself for those difficult and annoying times ahead. So I decided it was probably a good idea to keep hold of a couple of tatty basics until I find their well fitting replacements – otherwise I’ll have nothing to wear – and that will be even more stressful!

I will try and do a couple of ‘make over’ related posts every week (at least one) but you never know, some weeks might be a lot slower than others. I am really looking forward to sharing all this with you and I hope you enjoy the ride and find little bits of it inspiring and/or entertaining.

Beginners luck: I found this beautiful skirt yesterday. It fits like a charm, it’s comfortable and easy to clean. That’s another important ‘must’ for my new wardrobe, I don’t want to get things that need to be dry cleaned. I can’t afford it and I don’t really have the time – plus I sometimes feel a little bit nervous wearing them out and about because I’m frightened I’ll drop or spill something on them. I’m clumsy so it’s inevitable. Anyway, I’m pleased as punch with my new purchase… bring on the rest!

On a more house related note we got the BEST housewarming gift from Tom’s sister (THANK YOU SO MUCH!) the other day. Check out this handmade beauty!!!! I LOVE IT! It even has a tiny illya on it!

I’m causing chaos to my work space by “organising” EVERYTHING. I’m moving house in 8 days (eeeek) and I’ve been covered in dust for 2. I think it’s going well :)

This does mean my shop will close its doors for a week or 2 until we arrange the broadband and work space at the other end. I’ll keep you up dated on here. The shop will close on WEDNESDAY 31ST – my last post office day will be THURSDAY 1ST.

This is just a quick post because the time has come to edit my shoes… sigh…

I’m back from a little adventuring! I went up to Orkney for a few days to visit mum. We had beautiful weather, which was pretty lucky as I hear the winds have set in over the last couple of days. I love that place, the colours there are beautiful and I’ve come away armed with some fresh colour schemes to play with. We arrived at the same time all of the tall ships came to visit. Every day there were events going on in the harbour – little sailing trips, meals and music on boats. Stromness was full of fellow adventurers lapping up the oddities accompanying the Stromness Shopping Week (click the link for answers). We went for a 2 hour trip on the dutch Tall ship called the Wylde Swan. There were musicians on the boat playing sea shanties – mainly about doom, gloom and seasickness. LOVED IT!

On the down side I was lumped with a wisdom tooth nightmare – just what you need on a mini holiday! And ended up being given loads of antibiotics to calm it all down (it looked like I’d been “thwacked” on the jaw by day 8). I’m completely dreading the day I have to have this tooth removed and I’m sorry if I get a bit repetitive on this subject up until that day. Anyway, I hope that explanation helps you to understand why I’ve not been blogging lately – I was a seriously grumpy Amy. I hope I make up for it with this cluster of holiday snaps. Have a lovely day!

Horray! Next week I’ll be painting on the walls of Nottingham Castle as part of the touring V & A Street Art exhibition. A couple of us local Nottingham folk (Jon Burgerman, GING, DLK, smallkid – to name a few) have been asked to join in and bring some extra colour to the building while the show is being hosted here in the Castle. EXCITING TIMES!!!

For more info and updates here’s their facebook page!

Runs From July 2nd – September 25th!

It’s official and it’s right around the corner!!!

I’ve been plotting and planning this little adventure for months and months and it’s only recently sunk in that it’s happening in less than 2 weeks!!! (slight panic)

I present to you, via The Malt Cross Gallery (Nottingham), a group show featuring art work and loveliness by Gemma Correll, Lizzy Stewart, Helen Entwisle, Jen Collins, Gemma Latimer and myself.

The opening evening starts from 4pm and there will be a lovely little table of artist books and zines available for you to purchase. Everyone’s welcome! Come along and say hello! Also, spread the word!!

PS – Here’s a link to a little article I got in the local Left Lion paper. Says a little bit about what to expect from my corner of the show.